A good idea - a broken-down boat is used as a decoy in the Second World War - suffers from a crippling uncertainty of tone - is it meant to be funny, or isn't it? - in this misfiring comedy. As a screenwriter, Richard Murphy worked on some really interesting films for 20th Century-Fox, including Broken Lance and Compulsion. Here, for Columbia, he proves to be less than the ideal director for his own material, despite the services of an attractive cast headed by the genial Jack Lemmon. Sadly, teen idol Ricky Nelson shows that underplaying is no real substitute for acting ability. The use of CinemaScope is exemplary and the supporting cast is full of welcome faces, but, overall, even though it later spawned a TV series, the film simply doesn't work. |
Director: Richard Murphy
Cast List: Lt Rip Crandall : Jack Lemmon Ensign Tommy Hanson : Ricky Nelson Commander Vandewater : John Lund Patterson : Chips Rafferty Capt McClung : Tom Tully Josh Davidson : Joby Baker Sparks : Warren Berlinger Maggie : Patricia Driscoll Chief Mate MacCarthy : Mike Kellin Lieutenant Foster : Richard Anderson Johnson : Alvy Moore |